Hoist grapple



M. A. LONG HOIST GRAPPLE Filed Oct. l1

the lower ends of the ilanges of the arm and a block I3 wardly when it strikes the top of a coil. Above the hook on each arm there ls a pawl I whose upper end is pivotally connected to the base of the chan- Fig. 1, the pawl vbeing of such length that its lower end then extends beyond the outer end of n* hook I2.

the width of the strip that constitutes the coil. Such adjustment of the brackets occurs infrequently because, in a strip-rolling mill where coils of stripare moved by hoists, the usual practice is to roll a large amount of strip metal of one width before changing the mill to roll strip of another width. Y

When the hoist is lowered from the position shown in Fig. l, the lower incline faces I4 of hooks I2 strike the top of coil I6 and cause the lower ends of the arms to swing outwardly to the position indicated in Fig. 3. In such lowering of the hoist, the outer projecting ends Aof pawls I5 are engaged by the top of the coil and the pawls are swung upwardly to the postion also indicated in Fig. 3. When hooks I2 have been so lowered that their tops are below the inner face of the top portion of coil I 5, the arms swing downwardly by gravity to a vertical position, or are pressed downwardly and towards each other to a vertical position by springs I Il, and by such movement of the arms their hooks engage the coil in the manner shown in Fig. 4. With the coil thus engaged by the hooks .of the grapple arms, it may be elevated and moved to any desired position. After the coil has been lowered upon a support, the arms are further lowered to the position shown in Fig. 5 in which pawls I5 are free to swing downwardly within the central opening of the coil to their normal downwardly-inclined positions in which their outer ends rest upon the outer ends of hooks I2. When the hoist is thereafter raised, the outer faces of pawls I5 bear upon the ends of the inner face ofcoil I 6 and press the lower ends of arm 3 outwardly to release their hooks from the coil. It is apparent from the foregoing explanation of their operation that grapple arms automaticaL ly engage a coil, or a similarly shaped article, by the mere lowering of the hoist to the position required for engaging the coil. This is done without the necessity of a workman manipulating the arms, and without providing a hoist with special instrumentalities for mechanically or electrically causing the arms to move to coil-engaging position. Similarly, after a coil has been moved and lowered upon a support, it is only necessary to further lower the hoist and then raise it to cause the grapple arms to disengage the coil.

According tothe provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to be the best embodiment of it. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced by other forms of construction than as trated and described.

I claim: 1. A hoist grapple comprising a frame adapted o be raised and lowered, a pair of arms pivotally connected at their upper ends to said frame and suspended therefrom in spaced relation to each other, the lower ends of said arms being provided with opposed laterally-extending work-engaging hooks, and a pawl pivotally connected to each arm above its hook and normally extending in a downspecifically illus- ,l `wardly inclined direction from its pivot point and I6, brackets Z-having preilanges of arms 3 are spaced from each other a distance slightly greaterthan resting at its lower end upon and projecting beyond said hook, said pawls being formed and positioned to swing upwardly by their contact with a piece of work when said arms are lowered to a vposition in which their hooks engagethe work engaging position, whereby the pawls then cause the hook ends of the arms to swing outwardly beyond work-engagingr positions when the arms are moved upwardly. y Y

2. A hoist grapple comprising a horizontal boom adapted to be raised and lowered, a pair of arms pivotally connected at their upper ends tosaid frame and suspended therefrom from, the lower ends of said arms being provided with opposed laterally-extending work-engaging hooks, and a pawl pivotally connected to each below work-engaging position, whereby the pawls then cause the hook ends of the arms to swing outwardly beyond work-engaging-positions' when the arms are moved upwardly. z

4. A hoist grapple comprising a frame adapted to be raised and lowered,

with opposed laterally-extending work-.engaging hooks, means for yieldingly urging the hook "ends of said arms towards eachother, Astops for-preventing the hook ends of said arms from moving towards each other beyond substantially vertical positions of the arms, and a pawl pivotally connected to each arm above its hook and normally extending in a downwardly inclined direction from its pivot point and resting at its lower end upon and projecting beyond said hook, said pawls being formed and positioned'to swing upwardly by their contact with a piece of work when said arms are lowered to a position in which their hooks engage the work and to swing downwardly to their said normal position when the arms are lowered below work-engaging position, whereby the pawls then cause the hook ends of the arms to swing outwardly beyond work-engaging positions when the arms are moved upwardly.

5. A hoist grapple comprising a horizontal boom adapted to be raised and lowered, a pair of brackets slidably borne by said boom and adjustable longitudinally thereof to vary the space between them, an arm pivotally connected at its upper end to each of said brackets and suspended therefrom, the lower ends of said arms being provided with opposed laterally-extending work-engaging hooks, means for yieldingly urging the hook ends of said arms towards each other, stops borne by said brackets for preventing the hook ends of said arms from moving towards each other beyond substantially vertical positions of the arms, and a substantially straight pawl pivotally connected at one end to each arm above its hook and normally extending in a downwardly inclined direction from its pivot end and resting at its lower end upon and projecting beyond said hook, said pawls being formed and positioned to swing .upwardly by their contact with the top of by their contact with a'piece of work when said arms are lowered to a position in which their hooks engage the work and to swing downwardly to their said normal position when the arms are lowered materially below work-engaging position, whereby when the arms are then moved upwardly the upper faces of the pawls engage the work and cause the hook ends of the arms to swing outwardly beyond work-engaging positions.

6. A hoist grapple for engaging and moving coils of strip metal which have large central openings that extend horizontally, comprising a frame adapted to be raised and lowered, a pair of arms pivotally connected at their upper ends to said frame and suspended therefrom in spaced relation to each other, the lower ends of said arms being provided with opposed laterally-extending work-engaging hooks, and a pawl pivotally connected to each arm above its hook and normally extending in a downwardly inclined direction from its pivot point and resting at its lower end upon and projecting beyond the hook, said pawls being formed and positioned to swing upwardly the top of a horizontally positioned coil when said arms are lowered to a position in which their hooks engage to engage the inner face of the top portion of such coil and to swing downwardly to their said normal position when the arms are lowered to a position in which the upper ends of the upwardly-swung pawls are below the inner face of the top portion of the coil, whereby the pawls then cause the hook ends of the arms to swing outwardly beyond the ends of the coil when the arms are moved upwardly.

MYRON A. LONG. 

